1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a reclining chair and, more specifically, to a reclining chair for use in a health care environment having a reinforced chair frame structure and leg rest assembly which is capable of placing a seated occupant into a substantially flat layout position.
2. Description of Related Art
Reclining chairs are widely used in a variety of residential and commercial applications and as such are adapted to provide reclining movement between the seat and seat back assemblies, tilting movement of the chair frame assembly relative to the base assembly, rocking or gliding movement of the chair frame assembly relative to the base frame assembly and extension and retraction of a leg rest assembly. These chairs are capable of placing the seated occupant in an infinite number of seated positions ranging from an upright position to a reclined position.
In this regard, various swing link mechanisms have been utilized for suspending a seat assembly including a seat and seat back within a chair frame for permitting the reclining motion heretofore described. For example, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/319,672 entitled "Recliner Chair Seat Assembly and Method of Upholstering" filed on Oct. 12, 1994 discloses a metal seat assembly having a rear swing linkage and front slide assembly to move the seat assembly between an upright position and a reclined position. However, the range of motion between the metal seat frame and the seat back of this reclining chair is limited to between approximately 95.degree. in the upright position and approximately 150.degree. in the fully reclined position. When adapting a reclining chair for use in the health care environment, it would be desirable to provide a swing link mechanism which is capable of reclining the seat back relative to the seat frame in the range from approximately 95.degree. to approximately 180.degree., thereby defining a substantially flat occupant-supporting surface.
Likewise, when adapting a reclining chair for use in the health care environment, additional concerns arise regarding the functions and operations of such a reclining chair. For example, in this environment, a chair frame may experience a variety of extreme loading conditions on the side frames, chair arms and seat back when elderly or disabled patients sit down or get up from the reclining chair. Similarly, the reclining mechanisms, tilting mechanisms and leg rest assembly may be loaded in extreme conditions by doctors or visitors leaning or sitting on the chair when it is situated in any of its various positions. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a reclining chair capable of withstanding these adverse loading situations.
Furthermore, when adapting a reclining chair for use in the health care environment, the reclining chair may be utilized as a means of transportation for the seated occupant. Typically, this has been accomplished by adapting a stationary base with a set of wheels such that the reclining chair is mobilized. This modification works adequately when moving the chair from location to location without a seated occupant. However, when the reclining chair is mobilized with a seated occupant therein, the seated occupant's feet may impede the forward mobility of the chair when in the upright position. In this situation, extending the leg rest does not provide an acceptable solution to this problem since it makes directional control of the reclining chair difficult, as well as places the seated occupant, who may be dressed in a hospital gown, in a potentially revealing position. Thus, it is also desirable to provide a mobile base which permits the reclining chair to be transported in a relatively effortless manner, locked into a immobile state, and which further supports the feet of an occupant seated in an upright position during movement of the reclining chair.
As previously mentioned, reclining chairs known in the art have been adapted with a tilt linkage mechanism for tilting the chair frame relative to the base assembly. Typically, these mechanisms are operably coupled to the leg rest assembly and/or the seat assembly such that the chair frame is tilted concomitantly with the reclining motion of the seat back or the extension of the leg rest. However, when adapting a reclining chair for use in the health care environment, it would be desirable to provide a chair frame assembly which may be tilted independent of other motion of the chair to place the seated occupant in an non-reclined, but rearwardly tilted position. Likewise, it would be desirable to place an occupant seated in a reclined position with the leg rest fully extended such that they are lying in a substantially flat position, and further positionable to place their head slightly below their body and legs to increase the flow of blood to the brain for treatment of hypertension or shock conditions.